Blue Star Chronicles

I’m sure most of you remember Staff Sargeant Christian Bagge from when he went jogging with President Bush in June of 2006.

Twenty-five year old Christian is up for the Energizer “Keep Going” Award, and he certainly deserves it. Grand prize includes $10,000.00 cash money, and a sizable donation to the charity of his choice.

“Having lost both legs in Iraq, Christian set his sights on a recovery that would include running with President George W. Bush, and he met that goal. Today, Christian is a spokesman for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial Foundation, and he campaigns for the Wounded Soldier Project.”

There’s just one more day to vote so please run on over there and vote for Christian. All you have to do is click on the ‘Vote Today’ button, then click on Christian’s photo, then click ‘vote’. Very easy, only takes a minute. He deserves this!!!

Here’s the link: http://www.energizerkeepgoinghalloffame.com/

Go vote.

tiara tip: Something … and Half of Something

Michael Vick is hiding out in Virginia and expressing concern for what his current scandal is doing to his mother. He’s also asking for the prayers of his fans to get him through this situation in his life. OHHH PLEEEZZZEEEE.

He’s been given a venue to express his ’sincere’ appreciation of his fans and his concern about how this is affecting his mother. Porsche Foxx interviews Michael Vick giving him the opportunity to address his fans.

Vick bought the property on which the dog fights were conducted and named the property ‘Bad Newz Kennels’. What exactly does he claim to think was going on at his property? If he didn’t know, he should have known and I’m having a hard time buying that he didn’t know. Even his cohorts are implicating him. saying Vick funded the entire enterprise.

I think what bothers me most about this whole episode is the double standard that is glaringly evident but no one dares speak of.

All sorts of journalists, reporters, news readers, bloggers, radio and television personalities are screaming foul and saying they ‘hurt for Vick’. They are claiming there is a double standard in that he is losing his endorsements faster than he can electrocute one of his dogs.

These people are right, there is a double standard, but not in the way they are implying. They are trying to make this a racial issue and that is just ABSURD! The very people who are calling for Vick to be given a his day in court and not rush to judge him are the same people who jumped on the bandwagon of ruining the lives of the Duke lacrosse players (with NO evidence - in fact, there was evidence they DIDN’T do what they were accused of) and to hang Imus out to dry because he did what he does on the radio. They weren’t concerned about prejudging then?

If they were equal opportunity protesters it would be one thing - but they aren’t. I won’t make a sweeping judgment that they are racists because there are probably a few in the handful of people protesting on his behalf who aren’t racists- but if I had gone out and protested on behalf of the Duke lacrosse players I’d have been called a racist in a nanosecond.

That is where the double standard lies.

I hear all sorts of people coming to his defense, his coaches, people who have known him over the years. The problem is, he can run fast and carry a football. I’d be willing to bet he’s been given a pass on bad behavior since middle school. We all know it’s true. We see it in the schools and especially once someone is good enough to play in the big leagues. He’s been given a pass in the past for drug possession. Now it looks like he’s gotten himself in a mess he can’t get out of.

Don’t worry, Michael Vick will get his day in court. People can be outraged at his spoiled, multi-millionaire behavior, the same way we are outraged by other spoiled celebrities who get everything they want and expect to not have to live by the same rules the rest of us live by.

As much as people want to make it a race issue, it isn’t a race issue. It may be an issue of bad behavior that comes with too much privilege and too little responsibility. But it’s not a racial issue.

And just watch … I’ll be called a racist for even daring to expect Vick and those who want him to go free simply because he can run with a football to be held to account for their behavior … oh … and we know there are other reasons, but you can’t say that.

Frankly, it’s not FAIR to not hold people responsible for their behaviors. Do these protesters think so little of Vick that they think he is incapable of living in a civilized manner? Do they not expect any more from him than that he act inhumane? If you don’t expect any better than that from him, he won’t give you any better. If you think anything of him at all as a person, you will expect the best of him. Having such low expectations is a recipe for failure.

We can not have a civilized society when entire segments of the society (celebrities, athletes) are not held to account for their behavior and actions. Michael Vick needs to go to court and if he is guilty he needs to pay for his crimes. The same is true for all of us. It’s just that simple.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here’s an example of what I mean …

No - ‘they’ didn’t do anything to Michael Vick, HE did it to himself. ‘They’ can’t do it to you unless you break the law. No one is holding this man accountable for his behavior.

Is carrying a football so important that someone who can do that should never be held accountable? If he’d been held accountable for his behavior in middle school or high school he probably would be more responsible today. It’s not fair to HIM to not hold him responsible.

The Maryland mother suspected of murdering four infants whose bodies have been found on her property is being held without bail. She pleaded with the judge to let her out on bail, but she was refused.

Police are continuing to search her home and property for corpses and evidence. A backhoe is digging up her back yard and cadaver dogs are being used to search for bodies.

Freeman denied that she had been pregnant, even after she was examined at the hospital and it was evident that she had been. It is generally believed that she had performed abortions on herself, probably with the help of someone else, in order to terminate the pregnancies.

Freeman is the owner of Classic Taxi in Oceanside, Maryland. Fox News has summarized some information from her website.

Classic Taxi specializes in using cars from the 1950s and 1960s, according to the company’s Web site. On the Web site, Freeman’s profile said she and Godman had been a couple since 1988 and her hobbies were “our four children.” She said the family were NASCAR fans and liked to fish, boat and camp together. Godman was described as a “motorhead” who, through the company, found a way to fulfill his dream of working on and driving multiple classic cars.

A man who answered the phone at Classic Taxi declined to comment.

Freeman’s boyfriend isn’t a suspect in these alleged crimes. We have to say alleged because she hasn’t been found guilty in a court of law yet.

She says her hobby is her four children??? Give me a break!

Three Arab princesses caused a delay of over three hours on a British Airways plane when they refused to sit next to males who were not their relatives. They waited until everyone was seated and buckled in and then complained that they needed to change seats.

After much hullabaloo, the crew of the aircraft asked for volunteers to trade seats with them. The plane was packed and no one offered to inconvenience themselves for the princesses delicate sensibilities.

Eventually, the princesses were kicked of the plane and the other passengers jeered and cheered as they were escorted off the plane.

The dispute - in which the three princesses from the ultra-conservative Qatar royal family demanded segregated seating - left the London-bound plane delayed on a baking Italian runway for nearly three hours.

Furious passengers whistled and clapped as the row intensified before the captain eventually ordered the women to be escorted off the plane.

The princesses, wearing traditional Arab dress, were returning from a day’s shopping in Milan. They arrived at the city’s Linate airport and boarded Heathrow-bound flight BA 563, which was due to take off at 4pm on Thursday.

The women, all relatives of the oil-rich emir of Qatar, Bader Bin Khalifa Al Thani, were booked into business class in a party of eight which included the emir and an entourage of cooks, servants and other staff.

After passengers had fastened their seat-belts and the plane had taxied on to the runway, two male passengers in the entourage got up to protest about where the women were sitting.

According to the customs of Qatar and other Gulf states, women are not allowed to mix with men who are not relatives.

Cabin crew tried to rearrange the seats but passengers travelling together refused to give up their allotted places. The captain tried to mediate but after more than two and a half hours of wrangling he ordered the bulk of their royal party off the plane.

It is understood that five of the eight - including the princesses and the men who left their seats to protest - were removed.

Police and diplomats from the Qatar consulate in Milan were also called in before the plane eventually took off. The rest of the Qatar party left Milan later on an Alitalia flight.

A BA spokesman said: “The people were offloaded because they failed to comply with safety instructions when the aircraft was taxiing. Two passengers stood up and refused to sit down.”

A spokesman at the Qatar embassy in Rome said: “This was a private matter and we have nothing to say.” [source]

I just wonder why it took them three hours to get the prissy princesses off the plane. I also wonder why the Emir didn’t fly his entourage on the shopping trip in his own plane, or at least first class. Unless, of course, they wanted to make a point of demanding their Sharia law in a Western venue.

Predictably, in the comments section of the article muslims are complaining that the Westerners are racists. That is such a tired old argument. I believe it was the princesses and the Emir’s entourage that was being racist. You can be sure that if a Westerner was in their country they would be expected to respect their customs.

Pictured above: Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani a relative to the Princesses.

More at PC Free Zone, Kim Priestap

I know it’s not really news that Cindy Sheehan would stoop to using her dead son for her own agenda and for publicity. But still. It makes me sick whenever she does it, especially this blatantly.

This woman just makes me sick.

We all would be better off if she had just stayed retired more than 15 minutes.

Photo from Darleen’s Place.

A drunken Colorado college student dressed himself all in black and took a knife to the tires of government vehicles in an Army recruiting office parking lot in Washington. He said he did it because he hates the war and hates the military. In protest, he attacked parked cars in a parking lot in
Washington state in the United States. My, but isn’t he the brave and courageous one. He even had to get himself some liquid courage to make his stealth attack on the tires!

KIRO channel 7

SILVERDALE, Wash. — A drunken college student slashed 42 tires on 13 government vehicles in an Army recruiting office parking lot, saying he was angry about the war in Iraq, authorities said. Following a number of calls about a man wearing black and slashing tires, two deputies stopped a 19-year-old college student from Colorado as he tried to run from the lot shortly after midnight Sunday, a Kitsap County sheriff’s office report said. The man put up his hands, dropped a knife and, after being made to lie on the ground and being read his rights, asked, “Is this the time where I can confess?” deputies wrote. On a portable breath test his blood alcohol level registered .168, more than twice the legal threshold for intoxication, according to the report. He told deputies he decided to slash the tires of Army recruiting vehicles because he “hated the military and the government and the war we were in.” He was jailed for investigation of first-degree malicious mischief, a dangerous weapon violation for the knife and being a minor in possession of alcohol, with bail set at $10,000.

Over at Military Families Voice of Victory they wondering if he might be one of Ward Churchill’s students! ROFL. That would be about the caliber of students one would expect him to have had.

I just wonder about these ‘protesters’ who say they are ’supporting the troops’ by doing stupid things like this. What exactly is it they are protesting? It’s not like Vietnam where they might be drafted and have to go to fight for themselves. There are other people fighting this war FOR THEM. There are 19-year-olds in Iraq and Afghanistan right now doing real, honest to goodness brave and courageous things so that this dude doesn’t have to.

It’s a volunteer military. The recruitment center is voluntary - they aren’t dragging whinny mama’s boys off the street and making men out of them. What EXACTLY does this guy think he’s protesting?

Chief Justice John Roberts suffered a seizure and fall at his summer home in Maine earlier today. He’s been admitted to the Penobscot Bay Medical Center where he’ll stay overnight for observation. Thorough neurological examinations have revealed that there is nothing to worry about.

Apparently, Roberts suffered a similar episode in 1993.

Fox News:

Roberts, 52, was taken to Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport, Maine, according to St. George Fire Chief Tim Polky. He was transferred from his house to the mainland on a private boat; from there he was transferred to an ambulance, Polky said.

“He was conscious and alert when they put him in the rescue (vehicle) and took him to Penobscot Bay Medical Center,” Polky said.

But MaineCoastNow.com reported that St. George Ambulance responded to a call of a man who had fallen 5 to 10 feet and landed on a dock, hitting the back of his head. The patient was ashen and was foaming at the mouth. The patient had reportedly suffered a grand mal seizure.

Breitbart

Combat Soldiers at a Forward Operating Base (FOB) recently celebrated their Sergent’s birthday. It was a traditional celebration called ’sugar cookie-ing’, as in ‘he got sugar cookied’.

The Soldiers generously forwarded these photos and shared their recipe for ’sugar cookie-ing’. I’m sure this was a highlight for the Sergent on his birthday. There is little other ways to celebrate on a dusty FOB in Iraq. I’m also sure that the Sergent understands that his men honor and respect him by remembering his birthday by ’sugar cooking’ him. People don’t tease and joke with people they don’t like.

I’m just glad he’s just an American Soldier. If he were a terrorist bent on our destruction, people would be outraged and claim our Combat Soldiers were ‘torturing’ him! If he was a jihadist, these pictures would be all over the internet as proof of our Soldiers inhumanity. As it is, it’s just our guys letting off steam and having a good time.

I’m betting if they had put a pair of underwear on his head, he would have worn them and laughed about it.

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There has been mystery surrounding the identity of the nurse and sailor in this photo since it was taken on August 14, 1945. The photo was taken by Life photojournalist Alfred Eisenstaedt in Times Square during celebrations of the end of World War II. Eisenstaedt didn’t take notes, he just snapped pictures so the famous photo known as ‘The Kiss’ has been a source of speculation every since.

NEW YORK (July 28) — Yet another man has come forward claiming to be the sailor in the famous 1945 Life magazine photograph, “The Kiss.” This time, though, experts say he’s the one.

Glenn McDuffie of Texas has come forward and hired the help of one of the world’s top forensic experts, Lois Gibson, to prove that he is the Sailor in Eisenstaedt’s picture. There have been at least ten other men who have made the claim over the years.

McDuffie has taken and passed a number of lie detector tests to prove his point. In fact, he once appeared on the TV show “Lie Detector” hosted by famed criminal defense attorney F. Lee Bailey.

Ms. Gibson is listed in the Guinness Book of World Record’s as “Most Successful Forensic Artist” and facial expert. She has compared McDuffie’s measurements and the features to the man in the photo and said she believes he is a match.

AOL

This should be filed under stupid criminals, although apparently they haven’t caught the guy yet. The thief busts into a computer surveillance store in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. The store, obviously, has a high-tech surveillance system. They have the guy on video from every angle throughout his entire spree in the store.

Hopefully, they’ll get the guy soon. They certainly have plenty of pictures of him.

I’ve had a terrible time getting anything posted today. When I’ve been at the computer I’ve been trying to figure out why I can’t get on blogger.com AT ALL. It’s just aggravating me to death. I realize that’s not a life or death crisis or anything, but it is frustrating.

Well, let’s see what other people are writing about ….

Someone sent me a link to this article. Jenny Sokol’s column on Sacrifice is more than an idea. Well worth the read.

Our favorite Dumb Ox has started a new blog, Ox … After Dark, that focuses on love, marriage, sex and all the factors that work together for healthy loving relationships. I hope to contribute at some point when I can access blogspot again! In the meantime, they are doing just fine without me. Check out the articles there.

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